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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29054769">Strange New World</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeceliaOHurd/pseuds/CeceliaOHurd'>CeceliaOHurd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Friendship/Love, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:21:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,145</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29054769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeceliaOHurd/pseuds/CeceliaOHurd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Haunted by their troubled past, and fearful of the uncertain future, the marauders begin their final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And with the threat of Voldemort growing ever closer, the world is changing into a much stranger one than ever before.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. James Potter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>James Potter had always been tall for his age. It used to bother him quite a bit. When his father would rap him over the head with the Daily Prophet and say, “Good morning, Lanky!” James would shoot him the most ferocious glare he could muster, usually earning nothing more than a small chuckle from Fleamont. Even his mother would eye him as he loaded his plate up with food and make comments about how big he was getting. Being tall had been his burden. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course all of that changed in fourth year. Suddenly, being tall meant much more than passive aggressive comments from his parents. It meant loads of attention, mostly from girls. And there was no girl James wanted to pay attention to him more than Lily Evans. The only problem was that Lily Evans hated James Potter’s guts. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t that there was anything inherently </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span> with James. He was an attractive boy with his shaggy black hair, which he constantly messed with, long nose, and dark, deep set eyes. And it certainly didn’t hurt that years of Quidditch training gave him a broad, muscular frame which, by the time he entered fourth year, he’d started to grow into nicely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, the problem with James Potter wasn’t how he looked. It wasn’t even how he acted. It was the way in which he approached the whole situation. Of course, Lily didn’t know that James had a crush on her. In fact, James had barely spoken one word to her, his nerves often preventing him from getting a word out. As far as she knew, he was a boy on the Quidditch team who could be a bit of a bother. So perhaps the way in which James went about conducting one of their few interactions outside of a classroom environment didn’t do much in the way of making a good impression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took James a whole year to ask Lily Evans out. He wasn’t normally a nervous guy, but something about her changed all that. That was one of the things he liked so much about her, and part of the reason he even bothered offering to take her on a date. The other was James’ best friend Sirius Black, the boy who dared James to ask out Lily in the first place. James never would’ve done it otherwise, which Sirius of course knew and took into account when pushing James into talking to Lily. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t do it now, you never will,” Sirius said. “And I will be forced to mock you for the rest of both of our lives. Which will presumably be very long and filled with much misery if I have to spend every second of every day making fun of you for not asking out Lily Evans that one time in fifth year.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>James couldn’t say much to that. So it was on December 11th that he found himself marching across the Hogwarts courtyard, bracing himself to ask out the girl he’d had a crush on for almost a year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily Evans was sitting with her best friend, Severus Snape. This made James’ nerves even worse. He’d never liked Severus. Not only was he a bit strange, constantly moping about and muttering to himself, but he also was friends with some rather unsavory characters. Nicolai Mulciber and Samuel Avery were perhaps two of the most foul people James had ever met. They liked to go around hexing girls, particularly muggleborns. Yet, despite all this, Severus remained one of their good friends. And Lily remained friends with Severus, even though she herself was a female muggleborn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>James had never understood this. And what he didn’t understand, he ridiculed. Perhaps because of age, gender, environment, or some combination of the three. It didn’t really matter. The point was James was at a stage in his life where the most important things to him were Quidditch, girls, and tormenting Severus Snape and his gang of delinquent friends. And now James was confronted with the possibility of satisfying two of those three desires. He approached the bench where Lily and Severus were sitting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hullo,” he said, hoping his voice wouldn’t crack. He thought he’d grown out of that a while ago, but he could never be truly sure. Sometimes it crept up on him when he least expected it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lily and Severus both looked up, shocked to see James standing before them. He’d barely interacted with the former, and when he was talking to the latter it usually wasn’t in such a familiar manner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Lily spoke first, a cautious edge to her voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was hoping I could talk to you,” James nervously ran a hand through his already tangled hair. “Preferably alone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?” Lily asked, still confused as to why James Potter was talking to her at all. He was usually too busy with his head in the clouds to ever notice anybody but himself. And that was meant literally. James Potter spent so much time playing Quidditch it was a wonder he hadn’t become permanently molded to his broom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, you,” James said, starting to get antsy. The entire operation was taking longer than expected. And the longer it took, the more nervous he got. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you just say it here?” Lily asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um, I’d rather do it without Sniv-I mean Severus around,” James shifted from foot to foot, wondering why she wouldn’t just shut up and talk to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just hurry up and say what you want to,” Severus snapped, jumping into the conversation. This greatly annoyed James, who was hoping that he wouldn’t even have to look at Severus, let alone talk to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, Snivellus,” James said harshly, “Lily and I are having a conversation. So we’d appreciate it if you could keep your greasy nose out of our business for just one minute.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How dare you?” Lily jumped to her feet, awkwardly placing herself between Severus and James. “You can’t just talk to people like that, you know!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>James waved his hand dismissively, “Calm down. It’s just Snivellus.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And he happens to be one of my best friends,” Lily said fiercely. “So if you’re going to talk to him like that, I don’t really want to talk to you. Don’t think I don’t know about all the cruel pranks you and your stupid friends pull on him!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>James took a momentary step back to assess the situation, which was not at all going the way he had planned. In his mind, he was coming to sweep Lily off her feet and out of the greasy grip of Snivellus Snape. He certainly hadn’t expected this much resistance from Lily. As far as he knew, she was a smart, soft-spoken girl who stayed out of trouble and kept her feet firmly planted on the ground. Come to think of it, he didn’t really know that much about Lily as a person. He just thought she was pretty and got butterflies in his stomach everytime he looked at her. Suddenly, the whole operation seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better than being friends with a bunch of freaks,” James scoffed dismissively. “I was just coming over to ask you to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend. But now I think I’ll find someone else to go with me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s fine,” Lily snapped, “because I wouldn’t have said yes anyways. In fact, I think you’re a right git!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This came as an icy shock to James, who almost never heard the word ‘no’, let alone from a girl. Suddenly, it was of critical importance that Lily Evans want to go to Hogsmeade with him more than anything in the world. He didn’t think he could stand it otherwise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah come on, Evans,” he ran a hand through his hair once more. “What have I ever done to you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Besides tormenting my best friend?” Lily asked, eyebrows arched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hate to break it to you,” James said, “but your best friends kind of a weirdo. So why don’t you ditch him and spend a magical Saturday afternoon in the company of yours truly?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because,” Lily said, standing on her tiptoes in an attempt to meet James’ eyeline, “I think you’re a foul arsehole who I wouldn’t go out with if you were the last man on earth!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And grabbing her things, she angrily stormed away from the bench, Severus in tow. Sirius, who had been watching the whole affair from afar, came up behind James and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright, mate. Lily Evans isn’t worth it anyways. Sure, she’s gorgeous. But so are lots of other girls and they’re way less uptight.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m in love with her,” James said, staring after the redhead’s disappearing form. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come again?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Evans,” James turned and faced his friend. “I’m in love with her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh Merlin,” Sirius sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Sirius Black had known just how serious James was, perhaps his choice of words would have been a bit stronger. The rest of James Potter’s fifth year was spent chasing after a girl who wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Even after she ceased to be friends with Severus Snape, her hatred for James Potter persisted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And unfortunately for James Potter and his friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, affectionately nicknamed the Marauders, Severus Snape’s hatred of their group only grew stronger with each passing day. Hatred that led the events of October 29, 1976. The dreadful night of October 29, 1976. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Lily Evans</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Lily Evans couldn’t quite remember why she’d gotten out of bed in the first place. It has been hours ago that something, she didn’t know what, had roused her from her sleep, compelling her to take a midnight walk about the castle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was something she did frequently. Or at least whenever the nightmares got the best of her. And the nightmares were coming more frequently. Most of them involved You-Know-Who killing her family. Sometimes her friends were also killed. And on very rare occasions, Lily found herself facing the business end of the Dark Lord’s wand. Those were her least favorite dreams. They were the ones that woke her up shivering and bathed in sweat. She knew she was safe, at least at Hogwarts, but she could never quite believe it as fully as she needed to to keep the terrors from gripping her in the night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So she would walk around Hogwarts, keeping her footsteps deliberately light and making a mental note of all the secret passageways and broom cupboards she knew about. It might shock the average Hogwarts student to know how much Lily Evans, the prefect and crown jewel of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, knew about the best places to hide in the castle. It might also shock them to discover how frequently she needed to use them. For Lily had been wandering about after curfew for years. It was her favorite way to clear her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The halls were so empty, the stone so cool, the building so quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the groaning of stairs as they moved about and the gentle snoring of the portraits hanging on the wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lily’s favorite place to go was the astronomy tower. It was also, unfortunately, the hardest place to sneak off to. A popular locale for student hook-ups, it tended to be heavily guarded, and when it wasn’t being guarded, it was usually occupied by a couple looking to spend some quality time together. But on the rare occasion it was accessible, Lily loved to go up to the astronomy tower and look up at the stars, dreaming of far away galaxies and being able to escape to one. What she wouldn’t give to be anywhere else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fortunately for Lily, the astronomy tower was unguarded and unoccupied the night of October 29, 1976. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as she climbed the stairs, the rays of the full moon illuminating her pale face, making her skin appear almost translucent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lily, with her green eyes and red hair, had always been a little pale. But these past few months, she’d lost even more of her color due to stress. Not only that, but her hair had begun to come out and she’d lost even more weight, making her look rather fraile. But in the light of the full moon, Lily didn’t feel weak. She felt stronger than she ever had in her life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking out over the Hogwarts ground, she allowed herself a small smile. She was safe here. And one day things would all be okay. A majestic stag ran across the Hogwarts lawn, a boy draped over its back. A boy that looked suspiciously like….</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Severus?” Lily gasped, rushing towards the nearest telescope and focusing on the action taking place on the front lawn of Hogwarts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The stag had somehow vanished, and in its place was James Potter, Severus Snape hanging limply over his shoulders. Sirius Black followed, looking uncharacteristically disheveled and worried. He and James seemed to be arguing. That was odd. As far as Lily knew, James and Sirius didn’t argue. But what was Severus doing with them? Peter Pettigrew came running out onto the lawn, gesturing wildly, apparently trying to de-escalate the confrontation between the two boys. Lily waited for Remus to follow, realization washing over her as the final Marauder failed to show up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An icy cold feeling settled at the bottom of Lily’s stomach as, throwing caution to the wind, she rushed out of the astronomy tower and began sprinting through the hallways of the castle, desperate to get to Severus before what she feared was about to happen took place. She knew Remus. She knew he’d never deliberately hurt another person. But on the full moon…. Well, on the full moon anything could happen. Running by a figure that looked suspiciously like McGonagall, Lily thought she heard her name being called. She ignored it and kept going, increasing her speed. She had to stop the Marauders. Because if she didn’t, they’d kill Severus. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lily thought she was going to throw up. She knew all these boys, she knew that they could fight and had never seen eye to eye. But she never anticipated this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m coming, Sev,” she choked out, tears filling her eyes. What if she was too late?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bursting into the entryway, she collided with a solid object. Bouncing backwards and down to the floor, Lily looked up to see the shocked face of James Potter staring down at her, still holding Severus Snape in a fireman’s carry. Lily leapt to her feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let go of him!” she said, trying to grab Severus from James. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>James easily swerved out of Lily’s way, using his free arm to hold her back, “Calm down, Evans! Evans, calm down!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tears blurred Lily’s vision as she feebly fought back against Potter’s hold, “What did you do to him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Evans-.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell did you do to him?” Lily screamed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bloody hell, Lily, would you shut up!” Sirius snapped, his voice hoarse and ragged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something in the tone of Sirius’ voice made Lily stop and take stock of the four boys in front of her. James and Severus were both caked with dirt, almost as if they’d been crawling in an underground tunnel. Sirius was clean as far as Lily could see, but he looked decidedly disheveled. His hair was messed and his clothes were torn, almost as if he’d been in a physical fight. Only Peter looked unharmed, but his eyes were filled with tears and he twisted his fingers together anxiously. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck is going on?” Lily fought to keep from descending into a frenzy of pure hysteria. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Captain Cool here decided to be a supreme dumbass,” James jerked his head in Sirius’ direction. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As if I could ever have known-!” Sirius interjected, waving his hands wildly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, Black!” James hissed. “We’ll talk later. Right now we need to get Snape up to the hospital wing.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What's wrong with him?” Lily asked feebly. “Did Remus-?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” James interrupted before Lily could finish. “I got Snape out before it could come to that.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got him out?” Lily asked disbelievingly, the world swimming in front of his eyes. “You? But you hate Sev.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a monster, Evans,” James snapped. “Now, help us get him to Madame Pomfrey.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you crazy?” Sirius grabbed James’ arm. James yanked away viciously, causing Sirius to recoil in hurt and shock. Nevertheless, he continued, “If we take him up there they’ll find out what we did!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean what you did,” James said harshly. “And you really should’ve thought of that before you pulled that stupid stunt. Now let’s move.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But-,” Sirius began to protest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Move it, Black!” James bellowed, his composure slipping away momentarily. His voice echoed through the entryway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Sirius lowered his head, but not before Lily saw the tears brimming at the corner of his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The five of them, Snape still unconscious, trudged dejectedly up to the hospital wing. By the time they reached the end of their journey almost everyone was in tears, excluding James and the still incapacitated Snape.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>James’ mouth was set in a hard line, his eyes staring straight ahead. Lily, in all of her interaction with James Potter, had never seen him so mad. Not when she rejected him countless times, not when Mary McDonald got hexed in the middle of Herbology, not even when Severus had called her a you-know-what. The feeling of dread that had been growing since she first noticed something afoot had increased to an almost unmanageable level. She wished she could go back to her room. That’s where her pills were. That’s all she needed. Just one pill and she could go back to sleep. She could pretend this night had never happened. If she was willing to use a little magic, she could even forget. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened to him?” she whispered, spots flickering before her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I fucked up,” Sirius said, his voice cracked. “Merlin, Evans, I really fucked up!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he dissolved into a series of gut-wrenching sobs. Peter appeared to have some sympathy, putting his arm around his normally impenetrable friend. James Potter, however, looked at Sirius Black with disgust. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, Black.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up? Shut up?” Sirius asked indignantly. “I could be expelled for this! Don’t you care at all?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You lost that when you put all of our lives in danger,” James refused to meet Sirius’ eyes. “Don’t pretend you’re not to blame. Who’s idea was this again?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s exactly what I was about to ask,” a cold clear voice rang through the hospital wing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The presence of Minerva McGonagall was too much for Lily to bear, and she collapsed to the floor in agony, finally succumbing to the darkness. </span>
</p>
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